


A most peculiar mad’moiselle

by middlemarch



Category: Mercy Street (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Cosplay, Doctors & Physicians, F/M, Female Friendship, Gen, Humor, Opening Night, Romance, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:10:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9051097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/middlemarch/pseuds/middlemarch
Summary: March 17, 2017 had been pencilled, inked onto their calendars for months.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hufflepuffhermione](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hufflepuffhermione/gifts).



“See, I told you. We totally could have worn them,” Emma hissed at Mary, pulling her turquoise parka a little tighter. It was a cold March so far and she still hadn’t gotten used to a Boston winter, even after four years in residency. This was their chief year and Emma was waffling about fellowship because the weather would be so much better in California and you really couldn’t argue with Lucile Packard but it would mean leaving the cozy life she’d assembled for herself in Boston and while Henry would follow, a happily trailing spouse, Mary would not and Emma wasn’t sure that endless sunshine and Stanford really outweighed her best friend and Children’s and the first snowfall, Boston the inside of a snowglobe.

Well, the first silvery snowfall had been months ago and there was another storm forecast for the Sunday night which would make taking the T just a dream come true on Monday, but for now, the slush had sort of seized up on the pavement and they’d consoled themselves with fresh lattes in their mittened hands as they waited for the giddy line to move. Mary also wore a parka and jeans but with more insouciance and less shivering and Emma took to heart the argument her friend had made about not showing up in costume; a yellow silk ballgown, teetering between citron and pale amber, was no match for a New England March that was coming in like an entire pride of lions.

“Henry knows not to wait up, right?” Mary asked, stamping her booted feet a little. Jed had invited Sam and Clay over for some “epic gaming and even more epic nachos” but Henry had demurred and was solo in the brownstone he shared with Emma, evidently catching up on his endless lesson plans with a pot of herbal tea and a Robitussin chaser. He’d been getting over bronchitis for a few weeks, which meant he’d kept on going to work and then hacking up a lung all night, so both women could understand why he’d passed on the guys’ night in, but Mary still felt like she had to ask.

“Yeah. I told him we were staying for both shows, even if it means we’re basically zombies tomorrow,” Emma said. She’d be a blissfully happy zombie, she expected, and Mary would be humming under her breath during rounds for the next week. 

“Wow. You guys said people would be excited about this, you weren’t lying,” Charlotte said, walking up to them. They were towards the end of the line where it was closer to an amorphous crowd, so no one gave them a particularly dirty look when she stepped closer, waving a gloved hand in the air.

“Aurelia! Over here, babe, I found them!” Charlotte hollered. Aurelia walked over, a little breathless, her hoop earrings catching the light from the open doors of the theater. Emma relaxed a little; their viewing quartet complete, she could let anticipation bloom like a red rose.

“It’s a good thing we found you—I don’t think we’d have stood a chance inside,” Aurelia said. “Good turnout, huh?”

“Looks like it,” Mary agreed, smiling broadly. It had been her idea to go to opening night and even though she’d dissuaded Emma from showing up in full costume (and for the record, Mary preferred the blue with the pinafore to the ball gown), she’d been the one to arrange for them to all watch the original Disney version at her place where she’d served a variety of French pastries “to get us in the mood.” Jed had laughed and grabbed a fresh croissant from the open box on the counter before he headed out for his moonlighting shift, calling “There must be more than this provincial life!” after blowing Mary a kiss. Emma missed being on service with Jed, who was so flipping smart and didn’t take any crap from consultants but who was invariably polite to nurses and made even the littlest kids (and Emma, truth be told, especially if they were gowned and masked) smile with his Yo Gabba Gabba renditions. 

“I hope it’s as good as the trailers made it look,” Aurelia said. The film had so much promise and since they were together, it wouldn’t matter that much if it fell flat but Emma nodded in heart-felt agreement.

“I’m not worried. Two words. Josh. Gad. Come on, the line’s finally moving and I want to get Skittles,” Mary said, jollying them all along into the warmth of the movie theater, the space crowded with all sorts of Belles and far fewer Beasts, one or two brave Gastons, and a woman who was extremely invested in Mrs. Potts. It didn’t like it could be comfortable to watch the movie with a handle jammed into the armrest, but real fans made sacrifices for love.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my Christmas Eve gift for hufflepuffhermione for the Mercy Street Secret Santa 2016 exchange. The title is from the song "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast.


End file.
